[greglepore]

Great advice here. I can only add that consistency means the whole fam is on board with commands, otherwise the dog learns that only one of you is serious.

The dog needs to learn a "drop it" or "off" command early on.

Most dogs, labs in particular, are "teenagers" from about 8 mths to maybe 18-24 mths. They'll test your patience. Firm love is important. Always love the dog, but don't be afraid to make sure it knows that the human is in charge. Sometimes a bit of discomfort is required with a high energy dog to get its focus back on you-a quick pinch, or a prong collar (controversial, I know, but sometimes necessary in my view) work well.

Working breeds require more exercise than you can imagine. Games like frisbee fetch etc are good once they're old enough to get the point of the game.

I'd watch many of the videos on the Leerburg site. Lots of good free information there.